Dessert · Tested at home
Traditional Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from Libby's.
The Best I’ve Made · Selected by Justin. Baking timing adjusted to help prevent cracking.
Traditional pumpkin pie adapted from Libby's, with adjusted baking timing and gentle mixing and cooling tips to help prevent cracks.
Get everything ready
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient as you use it to keep your place.
Turn up the heat
Let’s cook.
- Prep the oven and crust. Preheat your oven to 425°F with a rack in the lower third. Place your unbaked pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet and keep it chilled in the fridge while you mix the filling.
- Combine dry ingredients. Stir the sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves together in a small bowl.
- Gently mix the wet ingredients. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl just until the yolks and whites are blended. Stir in the pumpkin puree and the sugar-spice mixture until smooth.
- Add the milk. Slowly pour in the evaporated milk while stirring gently until the custard is uniform.
- Start at high heat. Pour the filling into the cold pie shell. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes to set the crust.
- Lower the heat to finish. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes more. If the crust edges brown too fast, cover them with foil strips.
- Pull while slightly jiggly. Remove the pie when the outer 2 inches are puffed and set, while a 2-to-3-inch circle in the center still wobbles like Jell-O.
- Cool slowly. Place the pie on a wire rack at room temperature for at least 2 hours so the center finishes setting gently before you slice or refrigerate it.
Recipe Notes
4 Baking Tricks to Keep It From Cracking:
Don't over-whisk the eggs. Use a whisk or spatula by hand rather than a hand mixer. Whipping too much air into the eggs causes the filling to puff up in the oven and then collapse into cracks as it cools.
Skip the "clean knife" test. Many classic instructions tell you to bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, which actually overcooks the eggs. If you have an instant-read thermometer, pull the pie when the center hits 170°F to 175°F. Carryover heat will finish cooking it on the counter.
Use room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs straight from the fridge take longer to heat up in the center, which often forces the outer edges to overcook and crack while you wait for the middle to set.
Avoid sudden cold air. Never put a warm pie straight into the refrigerator. Letting it cool gradually on the counter prevents the top surface from shrinking faster than the warm interior.
This is a classic for a reason! Hands down the best.